When it comes to short-term rentals, Maui County is approaching a critical decision point. Mayor Richard Bissen wants to increase the number of rental units available for locals. Opponents say that would hurt tourism and local jobs.
Nearly 200 testifiers so far have weighed in on the mayor's vacation rental proposal. It would phase out short-term rental units in districts that are zoned for apartment buildings.
These units make up about half of Maui's 13,000 total vacation rentals.
The Bissen administration said that many transient vacation rentals are worsening the housing crisis and forcing many locals to move away.
“In Maui County, we have about 10,000 actively listed short-term rentals on a given day. That's about 14% of our housing supply,” said Matt Jachowski, a Native Hawaiian from Maui who's been compiling housing data and now works as an executive assistant to the mayor. He gave a presentation at last week's County Council hearing.
“Just for comparison, the City and County of Honolulu, which is much larger, has many more housing units,” Jachowski said. “They have fewer short-term vacation rentals, and those rentals only represent 2% of their housing market.”
Members of the County Council's Housing and Land Use Committee have heard more than 13 hours of passionate testimony on both sides over the past two weeks. The first hearing was held on June 9, and it continued on June 18. More testifiers are still signed up. This marks the continuation of a process that began last year with similar hearings before the Maui Planning Commission.
Anna Nguyen, a high school student from Lahaina whose family lost their home in the wildfire, opposed the mayor's plan.
“Short-term rentals don't just employ people in the hospitality industry, they also provide jobs for other sectors impacted by tourism,” she said.
Ann Dionne Selestin is a member of the Micronesian community who grew up on Maui and supports the measure. Her mom works as a housekeeper and cleans vacation rentals on the side.
“If you ask my mom whether she'd rather make money cleaning a short-term rental or give that unit to a family in need, she’d choose the family every time,” she said in her testimony. “Many families have already left the island because it’s simply too hard to survive here, while others are staying because we’re rooted here, even if it means living in their cars or sleeping on couches.”
Many opponents said high costs make units unrealistic as long-term rentals. Steve Hogan owns three units that would be affected by the proposal.
“HOA fees, utilities, mortgages, insurance, special assessments — these condos are far more expensive than what the average residents can afford,” he said. “Currently a one-bedroom condo at $650,000 costs $7,000 in expenses.”
Residents like Elexis Kalar pushed back on that notion.
“There’s a lot of rhetoric around these units not being suitable for local families and that we deserve better,” she testified. “Please do not tell me what is appropriate for me or my family to live in or tell me what we can or cannot afford.”
Brandon Maka’awa’awa supported the bill as an opportunity to make a long overdue change.
“We’re not trying to leave our kids one fight, we're trying to leave them a foundation. That foundation is built on housing,” Makaʻawaʻawa said.
Others felt the proposal just isn’t the best approach. Real estate brokerage owner Matt Tarasenko, whose business manages hundreds of South Maui vacation rentals, opposed the bill.
“We all agree that we need more affordable housing but respectfully, passing this bill will not solve this problem,” he testified.
Public testimony is scheduled to continue on Monday, June 23, at 9 a.m. After hearing all testimony then deliberating, the committee will make a recommendation to the County Council, which is the deciding body.
The bill needs two readings at full council to pass, with the schedule for that decision not yet set.
